*I Have 2 quotes for move from FL to CO

lisainflorida · Joined: 05 Jun 2007 Posts: 5

Started looking at this site about a month ago--extremely helpful information. Decided to join today to post about our two quotes and get opinions.

We are a 3 bd house, we have 2 kids, so lots of extra stuff. Our house is on the market and we have decluttered big time, so we also have a mini storage unit packed to the gills full of stuff too.

Atlas--Donn from Atlas (Reads in north florida) came out to do a walk thru. peeked in some cupboards, marked things down. Very nice man. We talked a lot about the storage unit, but he did not ask to see it--said the truck could easily make another stop and pick up stuff. I told him stuff packed in storage was not all totally packed for move across country. he said no problem, his people will check boxes and repack what is necessary.

his quote: binding or less $11,646 based on 17,000 lbs.. this includes picking up stuff at storage, checking/repacking anything needed, crating plasma, also FVP w/$250 deductible
As far as delivery, he could only give me 3-9 days and said the driver would be able to give me more of a definite when they load.

United--This is Suddath in north florida (from what i understand--huge company) Frank came out--very nice, has worked all aspects of the job from driver to packer/loader to where he is now. We walked thru house, extremely thorough, marking down absolutely everything. He wanted to see storage unit--so we drove over. he said there was no way a semi could get back to unit--so included shuttle pricing in his quote.

his quote: non bound estimate (option A) $12884 based on 18,837 lbs. this includes plasma crating, shuttle to pick up stuff from mini storage(but not checking and repacking) and FVP w/ $250 ded up to 125,000 coverage. he also gave me a window of delivery and I was able to pick two days that worked for my family and he said they will deliver on one of those days. he also told me that the drivers that do big jobs like ours are the best drivers they have--that the drivers get promoted to the big jobs. is this true?

So i am not sure what to do now? I am stressed with the house on the market, moving across country, kids out of school, and want to make sure i get opinions/ideas of things I might not have thought about. So any advice?

thanks for helping a newbie,
Lisa

Diane · Joined: 06 Oct 2003 Posts: 15834 Location: Los Angeles

Hi Lisa - my gut reaction is to go with Suddath since the rep carefully insisted on seeing the storage unit and predicted that you would need a shuttle. He is also correct about the better drivers being assigned to the larger loads. And Suddath is likely to self-haul the shipment using its own truck and driver - not sure about Read's. That's probably why Suddath can guarantee a delivery date.

HOWEVER - I wish the Suddath rep would give you an Option C (GNTE) quote rather than a Nonbinding. The only thing he really can't foresee is how much repackaging of the stuff in the storage unit will be needed - unless he couldn't get into the unit. Did he look inside? It seems strange that the Read's rep would give you a GNTE without even seeing the outside of the unit - let alone the inside - and the Suddath rep can't. I suggest that you ask him for an Option C quote.

Could you please post the exact location of these agents so I can make sure I am describing them correctly on the Superlist linked to below my name? Thanks.
_________________
Diane
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lisainflorida · Joined: 05 Jun 2007 Posts: 5

Diane,
the Suddath rep was able to see inside the storage unit, but it is so full Sad

that we weren't able to determine everything that was in there or see all of the boxes. so he kind of had to guesstimate weight for the stuff in storage.

I am working with Donn at Reads Moving systems of Florida (Atlas), located in Jacksonville and Frank from Suddath (united) in jacksonville.

hope that helps
Lisa

Diane · Joined: 06 Oct 2003 Posts: 15834 Location: Los Angeles

Well, people in the industry have said that you can't usually get a GNTE if there are things in a storage unit that can't be seen. I don't think it's a deal-breaker if you can't get one. I am impressed by the thoroughness of the rep and I think I would still lean toward Suddath even without a GNTE, although it wouldn't hurt to ask for one. You seem to be making good progess. Is any of this move being paid for by an employer?

gatorinmn · Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Posts: 10 Location: MN

We used Suddath (but in Fort Lauderdale) for a move in September to Minnesota. They were excellent. They were a little on the pricey side, but their customer service was great, they arrived on time on both ends, and they took great pains to protect our houses during both loading and unloading. We had two small items damaged during transit, and they took care of everything in getting the items repaired. Overall, it was a very good experience for a move about as long as yours.

Good luck!

lisainflorida · Joined: 05 Jun 2007 Posts: 5

Thank you for sharing your experience. After talking things over with my husband, we have decided to go with Suddath. That is what my gut was saying--i feel more comfortable that the rep that came out was so thorough. I am calling him tomorrow to see if he might be able to give us an "option c" quote, but i don't really expect him to with our storage unit issues.

Diane--no we get to pay for this ourselves--fun fun fun!

thanks for the help,
Lisa

gatorinmn · Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Posts: 10 Location: MN

One other thing, Lisa: I work for the federal courts, and I was pleased to learn that the Fort Lauderdale federal courthouse uses Suddath when items need to get moved from chambers to chambers within the building (or when judges move from the courthouse in WPB to the one in FTL or MIA, or vice versa). I figured they've gotta be good if the court uses them.

Good luck with your move and enjoy Colorado!

Diane · Joined: 06 Oct 2003 Posts: 15834 Location: Los Angeles

Thanks, gator, for this review. Suddath in FL is really racking up the good ones!

Lisa, regarding picking things up from a storage unit, see this thread for some background and note what Pam Mueller said - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13536 (end of thread)
I really think the Read's rep was wrong to give you a GNTE without going to the unit to look at access and the approximate size of the shipment. I think it could have created problems with the driver down the line.

farrah7031 · Joined: 11 Jun 2006 Posts: 4619 Location: Tallahassee, FL

It's about time that Florida FINALLY has rave reviews!

lisainflorida · Joined: 05 Jun 2007 Posts: 5

Just wanted to update. At Diane's encouragement, I called Suddath and asked for a binding quote (figured it wouldn't hurt to ask). We talked a bit about the amount of goods we have and he agreed to give me a binding quote. I got it later in the day and it was for $12,300. So we are going with them. So far we have been pretty impressed with their thoroughness and how helpful they have all been. i will post again after we move and give you all the details.

thanks for everyones advice and help--we really appreciate it!
Lisa

lisainflorida · Joined: 05 Jun 2007 Posts: 5

just also wanted to add, the reason the binding quote is lower, is we dropped the extra pick up at storage unit. we are just going to get it all back to our house on our own.

Lisa